Salary increases and adequate support staff would persuade nurses planning to leave the profession in two years or less to keep working, according to a survey of Massachusetts nurses released May 5.
The randomized survey of 462 Massachusetts RNs was conducted by Boston-based Beacon Research from March 30 to April 7. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents were members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association.
As part of the survey, nurses identified salary increases (69 percent) as the main benefit that employers could offer that would persuade them to continue working as nurses.
More than half of the respondents (53 percent) said having enough ancillary staff and limits on the number of patients that can be seen at one time (49 percent) would also keep them working. Other incentives included favorable time off benefits (44 percent) and pension benefits (41 percent).
Six other survey findings:
1. Eighty-three percent of nurses said the overall quality of healthcare has gotten worse in Massachusetts.
2. Sixty-nine percent of nurses said understaffing is the biggest hurdle to providing quality care.
3. Sixty-four percent of bedside nurses cited inadequate pay or benefits as a major challenge.
4. Fifty-nine percent of direct care nurses said their employers are doing poorly when it comes to providing child care options.
5. Sixty-two percent of direct care nurses said they believe their employers are doing poorly when it comes to providing adequate time off to deal with effects of working during the pandemic.
6. Fifty-one percent of direct care nurses said their employers are doing poorly when it comes to providing emotional support services.
To read the full survey findings, click here.